Join AIYA QLD! The Australia-Indonesia Youth Association (AIYA) - Queensland... Chapter is looking for new team members to join the committee. Check out the open job descriptions and find out how you can apply here. Yuk! buff.ly/2v78MVXpic.twitter.com/LQOaTRfYLa

Canberra, 23 May – Come to AIYA ACT’s annual Networking Night! Held in the Indonesian Embassy, mingle between students and professionals, create networks, and be inspired by the benefits of studying Indonesian! buff.ly/2IEYXnIpic.twitter.com/eyPCbKTyv8

AIYA Victoria has been working with other chapters and AIYA’s national executive since 2012 and has established relationships with local academic and professional organisations including Australia-Indonesia Centre, Asialink, the Indonesian Consulate-General in Melbourne, the Indonesian Student’s Association (PPIA), and many more.

Running various activities in the fields of education, culture and sport there are a variety of events and programs throughout the year that you can get involved with! Get to know the committee and general members and stay up to date with the chapter’s upcoming events through social media!

Committee Members

Stephen Sebastian Tedja – President

Stephen is currently an undergraduate in the University of Melbourne. Highly passionate about languages and inter-cultural communities, he sees AIYA as an excellent initiative to bridge the gap and barriers between the two neighbouring countries. Being in both NAILA and AIYA has given him many different insights on the bilateral relationship, something that has been improving dramatically ever since he first came to Australia. On a grassroots level, he is happy to connect diverse individuals through AIYA events in Victoria, and also (gently) correcting people’s Indonesian during LX’s (Language Exchanges).

Estelle Fraser – Vice President (External)

Estelle is currently at the University of Melbourne completing her Bachelor of Arts in International Politics and Linguistics, as well as a Diploma in Indonesian. She has eagerly participated in in-country language and culture programs at Sekolah Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur and Udayana University in Denpasar. Estelle strongly believes that education and person-to-person ties are crucial to breaking down barriers and strengthening the Australia-Indonesia relationship. As the Vice President of External Affairs, she hopes to use her passion for Indonesia to promote bilateral cultural understanding.

Emily Heng – Vice President (Internal)

Emily has been studying Indonesian for seven years. Over the years, Emily has participated in NAILA, and has also won a 3-day scholarship to visit the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra. At Monash University, Emily is in her third year of her degrees in Laws and Global Studies, including a major in Indonesian Studies. Emily is most interested in Australia’s perceptions of Indonesia at the grassroots level (and vice versa). As Vice-president of internal affairs, Emily is excited to coordinate administrative tasks so that AIYA events can run smoothly and the sharing of culture between the two countries can be heightened. In her free time, Emily enjoys travelling, playing softball and drinking teh kotak.

Isabelle Torrerio – Secretary

Isabelle is an undergraduate student at the University of Melbourne, completing a Bachelors degree in Arts, majoring in Indonesian studies. Her interest in the Australia-Indonesia connection evolved from high school study of the language, alongside subsequent travels to Indonesia on student exchange programs. With her enthusiasm and passion for learning about Indonesia, Isabelle is eager to promote language and culture sharing experiences with the Australia-Indonesia youth Association (AIYA), and to connect with a diverse range of people.

Johanes Warsono – Treasurer

Warsono is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Accounting and Finance at the University of Melbourne. As an amateur traveller and language enthusiast, his interest in studying Indonesian was piqued after he visited the Riau Islands last year and discovered that Indonesia was vastly different from his image of it. Warsono believes that the Australia-Indonesia Youth Association will allow him to practice his Indonesian and develop an understanding of Indonesia’s diverse culture. This year, as the treasurer of AIYA Vic, he will apply what he has learnt from university to contribute to AIYA’s growth. As a non-Australian and non- Indonesian member in AIYA, he believes his special identity may bring fresh elements as well as new point of views to the building of friendship between Australia and Indonesia.

Amelinda – Social Media Officer

Amelinda is an Indonesian who loves Footy and travelling! Following her Bachelor of Communications, she is now in the last year of her Master’s degree in Human Resource Management. Communications and human resources are important to the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia. She believes that AIYA members can maintain this relationship. More importantly, she believes that AIYA will have a significant impact on the people around us.

Bayu Pratama – Sociocultural Officer

Having graduated from Victoria University in 2015, Bayu is currently a student at RMIT in Social Science (Youth Work). He is also involved with the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) as a Youth Advisor. From 2014, he has had a stint with AFL, as a Diversity Ambassador with powerhouse clubs such as St Kilda, Melbourne Demons, and Collingwood Football Club. In addition to his Ambassador role, Bayu has represented Indonesia on AFL International Cup, back in 2014, & 2017. Outside his involvement of sports, he is an advocate for political and social causes. He has previously appeared on a 2017 Senate Hearing to represent a report on the topic of “Strengthening Multiculturalism in Australia” to the Federal Government. Bayu believes that AIYA is a meaningful platform to connect and engage both Indonesians and Australians, especially through Sports.

Mitchell Mollison – Sociocultural Officer

Mitchell has been learning Indonesian music for six years. He recently spent ten months in the province of Lampung, researching gong music traditions for his Master of Arts at Monash University. Mitchell is strongly interested in introducing the richness of Indonesia’s arts to an Australian audience, and recently started a Lampung gong ensemble community group based at Monash. Besides his interest in the music and culture of Indonesia, he is also interested in understanding social issues affecting Australia and Indonesia, and is a motivated student of the Indonesian language.

Yahya Zakaria – Education Officer

Yahya Zakaria, or familiarly known as Zacky, is a Monash University student completing his Master of Education specialised in Digital Learning. Zacky sees the importance of learning a language as an open door to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia. Apart from studying, he is currently working as an Indonesian language assistance at Marcellin College and developing his Indonesian tutorial videos (‘Learn Real Bahasa Indonesia’ over YouTube.

Sarah Bouquet – Education Facilitator

Sarah is currently taking a gap year, working as a piano teacher as well as co-developing a literacy program designed for Indonesian primary schools. Sarah has enjoyed studying Indonesian since primary school, her enthusiasm for Indonesian studies enriched by a 6-week exchange in West Java and even more so when she won the NAILA Senior Awardee category in 2017. Sarah is passionate about ensuring every individual receives the best possible education and in the future, hopes to assist in developing the Indonesian primary school curriculum. As an AIYA Education Facilitator, Sarah hopes to encourage others to become more involved in the Indonesian-Australian community, with the vision of strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Dylan Vienet – Education Facilitator

Dylan is currently studying at RMIT University. Having grown up in Singapore, Dylan’s encounters with Indonesia began at a young age through traveling and regular contact with its people. He has traveled extensively to Indonesia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the former Soviet Union and truly believes that traveling is a great way to gain knowledge and better understanding for other cultures and people. As an education facilitator, Dylan hopes to use his traveling experiences as examples for better cross-cultural understandings between the two countries. Dylan is always trying to gain different perspectives from other members and attendees to AIYA’s various different events due to his passion for different cultures and people. Dylan spends lots of his free time maintaining his own travel blog, researching different cultures, watching football (soccer) and socialising with friends.